Crisis counselors get recovery pay

While the nation is currently considering the way we handle mental health issues and how those policies affect the public health and safety of our communities, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted in favor of spending more money on some of the emergency counseling services offered by the county.

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By John Bowman

Siskiyou Daily News, Yreka, CA

By John Bowman

Posted Jan. 16, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Updated Jan 16, 2013 at 11:19 AM

By John Bowman

Posted Jan. 16, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Updated Jan 16, 2013 at 11:19 AM

YREKA

While the nation is currently considering the way we handle mental health issues and how those policies affect the public health and safety of our communities, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted in favor of spending more money on some of the emergency counseling services offered by the county.

Siskiyou County Human Services Agency Director Michael Noda brought the agenda item to the board asking them to approve a policy amendment that would provide four hours of paid recovery time for mental health staff who perform after-hour emergency crisis counseling.

Due to extreme staff shortages, Human Services Agency employees often must work a regular Monday through Friday daytime work schedule in addition to providing after-hour emergency crisis counseling. While they do receive stand-by pay and overtime pay when applicable, these employees often find themselves working through the night when a mental health crisis occurs. In many cases the employee must then return to the office the next day with little or no sleep and continue seeing scheduled clients throughout the day.

Noda told the board this situation can lead to extreme stress and negative health effects for the employees as well as a diminished quality of service provided to Human Services Agency clients with appointments during the day.

The board passed the ammendment by a three to two vote with supervisors Marcia Armstrong and Michael Kobseff casting the two “no” votes. Both cited concerns over the potential cost of the paid recovery time for the counselors.

The amendment, as passed, will provide mental health employees with a four-hour morning recovery period Mondays through Thursdays when that employee has worked three or more hours providing after-hour emergency crisis counseling between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. the previous night.

County Administrator Tom Odom told the board, “I get real nervous when we may not be serving the client in these extraordinary, extreme conditions. With what goes on in the world today with the stress and the mental health, I mean we’re hearing it all the time now. When you’re dealing with an emergency situation ... in this case, mental health, sometimes we have to throw a little more resources at it than we’d want to plug in the gaps.”

Supervisor Ed Valenzuela agreed with Odom, explaining that he feels that expecting employees to pull an all-nighter and then work a full day the next day “is a disservice in itself.” He said he would like to see the paid recovery period be a short-term solution to hold the department over until a better, more cost effective solution can be found.

Currently the Human Services Agency is preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to recruit contractors that could perform the services of after-hour crisis counseling. Several supervisors expressed their hope that the RFP would yield a better long-term solution to the staff shortage.

Page 2 of 2 - “I get what we’re after here, but I just don’t know that – I’ll just say it – that throwing money at it is going to fix it. I don’t think that’s the answer,” said Kobseff.

Armstrong said she felt that paying the employees stand-by pay, overtime pay and recovery pay was excessive. She proposed the Human Services Agency find a way to provide the recovery hours as unpaid time.

Supervisor Grace Bennett made the motion to approve the amendment, stating, “I think this is just another tool in the box that can take care of the clients, and that’s always the most important thing, to take care of the people who need these services.”